jackhags69
Dec 10, 2011
Undergraduate / "My Sister" - Common App Essay [10]
This is for my common app essay. the prompt is Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Writing is by far my weakest aspect and I need serious help! please! i will be sure to help with any of your essays if you can provide some input on mine. My goal is to attend a competitive university (ie Northwestern, Brown, Rice) so i need this to be great:)
On March 11th, 2001 my mother Molly gave birth to her fourth child. She was expecting another perfect delivery, yet this one was anything but. My new sister Abby was born compromised. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and her small lungs couldn't find the strength to breathe. My mom didn't hear that "new born screech" that she describes as her favorite sound in the entire world. The silence was deafening, and immediately the doctors on scene went to work on the fading new born. Abby was rushed to Minneapolis Children's Hospital by ambulance.
As she arrived it seemed like that would be the last place Abby would venture. Luckily Dr. Baisch, a pediatric critical care intensivist, was there. It was then that Abby's chance of survival seemed bleakest, and Dr. Baisch made a decision that changed my life. In a high risk last ditch effort, he attempted to insert a central line into Abby's jugular vein in an effort to get her stabilized. As he made the incision into her minuscule vein, it seemed like the world had stopped. Abby's small chest no longer moved with its rhythmic up and down breathing cycles, the calming beeps of the heart rate monitor stopped and flat lined, and it appeared Abby's little seven pound body had stopped too. Dr. Baisch wouldn't give up. He began to pump on Abby's chest, which was about a quarter of the size of his skilled but gentle hand, while he simultaneously pushed air into Abby's lungs with a BVM resuscitator. Abby finally took a breath and the monitor beeped; Dr. Baisch had saved my sister's life.
To this day, Abby's smile continues to be a daily reminder of how Dr. Baisch saved both my little sister and saved all the joy Abby has brought to me and my family. Each time I see her happy face, or hear her laughter, it instantly gives me the determination I need to be the best I can be, just like Dr. Baisch. Abby's birth provided many changes in my life. It impacted my sense of determination, compassion, and encouragement. This change can be accredited to both the closeness I now share with Abby and to Dr. Baisch. After saving Abby, Dr. Baisch became a significant role model in my life. I look up to his deep sense of compassion, and attempt to match it by helping anyone I can every day. I respect his determination, and now doing my best includes never giving up. I am extremely thankful for his positive influence, and I now strive to have the influence on others that he has had on me. Although my dream is to one day graduate from medical school, I know that as I am preparing for the next step in life that my parents, my siblings, and Dr. Baisch have provided me with the qualities I need to be successful in absolutely anything I choose to partake in.
This is for my common app essay. the prompt is Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Writing is by far my weakest aspect and I need serious help! please! i will be sure to help with any of your essays if you can provide some input on mine. My goal is to attend a competitive university (ie Northwestern, Brown, Rice) so i need this to be great:)
On March 11th, 2001 my mother Molly gave birth to her fourth child. She was expecting another perfect delivery, yet this one was anything but. My new sister Abby was born compromised. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and her small lungs couldn't find the strength to breathe. My mom didn't hear that "new born screech" that she describes as her favorite sound in the entire world. The silence was deafening, and immediately the doctors on scene went to work on the fading new born. Abby was rushed to Minneapolis Children's Hospital by ambulance.
As she arrived it seemed like that would be the last place Abby would venture. Luckily Dr. Baisch, a pediatric critical care intensivist, was there. It was then that Abby's chance of survival seemed bleakest, and Dr. Baisch made a decision that changed my life. In a high risk last ditch effort, he attempted to insert a central line into Abby's jugular vein in an effort to get her stabilized. As he made the incision into her minuscule vein, it seemed like the world had stopped. Abby's small chest no longer moved with its rhythmic up and down breathing cycles, the calming beeps of the heart rate monitor stopped and flat lined, and it appeared Abby's little seven pound body had stopped too. Dr. Baisch wouldn't give up. He began to pump on Abby's chest, which was about a quarter of the size of his skilled but gentle hand, while he simultaneously pushed air into Abby's lungs with a BVM resuscitator. Abby finally took a breath and the monitor beeped; Dr. Baisch had saved my sister's life.
To this day, Abby's smile continues to be a daily reminder of how Dr. Baisch saved both my little sister and saved all the joy Abby has brought to me and my family. Each time I see her happy face, or hear her laughter, it instantly gives me the determination I need to be the best I can be, just like Dr. Baisch. Abby's birth provided many changes in my life. It impacted my sense of determination, compassion, and encouragement. This change can be accredited to both the closeness I now share with Abby and to Dr. Baisch. After saving Abby, Dr. Baisch became a significant role model in my life. I look up to his deep sense of compassion, and attempt to match it by helping anyone I can every day. I respect his determination, and now doing my best includes never giving up. I am extremely thankful for his positive influence, and I now strive to have the influence on others that he has had on me. Although my dream is to one day graduate from medical school, I know that as I am preparing for the next step in life that my parents, my siblings, and Dr. Baisch have provided me with the qualities I need to be successful in absolutely anything I choose to partake in.